Recently I have found myself in conversations with some of my favorite people in which one or the other of us, always women, was concerned that something we had said had offended someone. (See my post from last Friday, Woke Up in the Center of My Universe.) I guess it’s nice that we all want to be nice, but as one of these lovely ladies put it, “We can disagree without being disagreeable.”
Where do we come up with the idea that we can’t express ourselves on anything controversial? Expressing opinion gives others opportunity to think through an issue, possibly in light of something they hadn’t considered before.(Proverbs 27:17) We’re all different. We need each other’s input. We need each other.
Variety in lots of other things is good, why not in opinions? Just because I don’t like your shoes, doesn’t mean I don’t like you.
I think the trick is to disagree without being condescending. I hate it when people disagree with me disrepectfully (and when they start with the words “with all due respect” you know they are about to school you).
Taste, opinions, values, beliefs… so much diversity and so much to learn from each other.